Paw Paw improved to 5-2 on the season while Plainwell suffered its first loss and falls to 6-1. More importantly, it moves the Redskins into a tie with Plainwell and Otsego at 3-1 in the conference. Paw Paw was led offensively by Chloe Salman, who finished with 11 points.

“I thought we could play with them and surprise people,” Mitchell said on his early season prediction. “This (win) puts us in the mix.”

Paw Paw used a triangle and two defense to stop the two leading scorers for Plainwell, Sarah Morrell and Miranda Monroe. Morrell finished with nine points while Monroe had seven.

“They’re trying to take Morrell and Monroe out of the game, and that’s a good game plan against us,” Plainwell coach Tim Rieman said.

In the first quarter, Paw Paw’s defense stifled the Trojans, limiting them to just five points. Paw Paw built a 10-5 lead after eight minutes.

“Our defensive effort was the best it has been all year for us. We’ve been working on that triangle and two for a couple weeks now for this game, and it paid off,” Mitchell said.

The Redskins used a 11-0 run to start the second quarter to jump out to a 21-5 lead thanks in part to a pair of three-pointers from senior guard Kaelin Lambert. Lambert was a difference maker in the second quarter, scoring all nine of her points as Paw Paw built a 28-12 advantage going into the second half.

“She came in and did exactly what we wanted her to do,” Mitchell said.

The Redskins built the lead despite missing Jessica Beebe, who was forced to the bench with foul trouble. Beebe leads Paw Paw in scoring this season and Mitchell said he couldn’t afford her to pick up a third foul in the first half. Beebe finished with eight points.

“That hurt us getting two on her, because I had to have her for the second half,” Mitchell said. “Jessica has been great all year, she has really stepped up and been a great defensive player and a great point guard for us.”

Plainwell came roaring back in the third quarter, using a full-court press to disrupt Paw Paw and make it a 29-25 ball game heading into the fourth quarter. Plainwell’s Shelby Hirdning hit two threes during the rally and finished with seven points on the night.

“Our nemesis is that third quarter, and we came out again and couldn’t put the ball in the hole, we made some mistakes and all of a sudden its a ballgame again,” Mitchell said.

Rieman said there was better effort from the girls in the second half and they were able to climb back into the game. In the fourth quarter, he said the ran out of gas trying to comeback.

Paw Paw came out and scored the first five points of the fourth quarter, giving them a 33-25 advantage with 5:50 left. The two teams traded baskets before a five-point run by Paw Paw put the game out of reach. Down the stretch, Paw Paw played keep away from Plainwell, holding onto the ball for more than a minute as time ran down.

Salman said the key to bouncing back in the fourth quarter was just settling down.

“After a couple of timeouts, we started to settle down, talk as a team and stay positive,” Salman said. She added that this game had been circled on the schedule for weeks.

“We knew that Plainwell was one of our biggest competitors and we practiced hard for this game.”

Salman said this win "definitely" puts Paw Paw in the mix for the division title.

The two teams now look to next week and two more tough matchups. Paw Paw takes on Otsego next Friday, with the winner getting the upper hand in that Wolverine East race. Plainwell now looks to bounce back against a talented Three Rivers team.

“After this, we say, ‘Don’t let it linger. Don’t let one loss become two, three, four. Put your foot down and make something happen,’” Rieman said. “We have another tough game next Wednesday against Three Rivers.”